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Sight

Sight-smells are related to smells that can be visualized because it represents a specific colour, object or shape

ambery 

A warm, powdery and sweet scent like vanilla.

blossomy

​A subtle, transparent and floral smell.

bright

The fresh opening of a perfume like a citruses and star anise.

dark

Notes of coffee and caramel.

deep

A complex, lingering, powerful, sometimes even tenacious smell that has a lot of body like amber, woods and mineral.

diffusive

A lingering, heavy and powerful smell that evaporates extremely slowly. For example, the aroma of coffee that lingers in the café.

floral

A broad descriptor that can be applied to all flower-related smells.

‘(...) can be sweetly gamine with a naive delicacy, outrageously sensual with a hip-swaggering headiness, or a myriad of nuances in between.’ (Nightingale, 2019)

green

​A fresh and natural smell that reminds one of the stems of a plant, matcha tea, cooked spinach but also more chemical types of smells one can connect to the word ‘green.’

leafy 

A fresh, green and vegetal smell that is reminiscent of crushed leaves.

lush

A voluminous, rich and velvety smell like leather.

metallic

Slightly metal (iron) facets which one could think of as clean and cool and can be attributed to various smells including clove and loose change.

mouldy

A moist/humid and musty smell, like soil, roots, fungi, humus and bales of hay drying in the sun.

petally

A floral, velvety smell reminiscent of a flowers petal.

solar

A warm, floral and balmy smell that one thinks of when going on a holiday to a warmer destination. For example, the smell of scented oils.

vivid

Vivid or vivacious smells are the typical top notes that are characterized by their fresh, volatile, sharp and bright facets.

woody

A slightly sweet, dry, warm and sour smell which can have milky, spicy or burnt facets, depending on the type of wood.

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